The present invention relates to a radial press with two press yokes and eight crimping members, where the press yokes are arranged in a plane that is perpendicular to the press axis, are located diametrically opposite one another relative to the press axis, and can be moved towards one another in a straight line by means of a drive unit, in a direction of movement that runs perpendicular to the press axis, and where furthermore six of the crimping members mounted in the press yokes have slide surfaces that interact with a control surface of a press yoke or an adjacent crimping member, in each instance, in such a way that all of the crimping members are uniformly moved toward the press axis when the two press yokes move closer to one another, and wherein two of said eight crimping members are diametrically opposed to one another on said first press yoke and said second press yoke in the direction of movement of said first press yoke and are in a stationary position with respect to said respective press yoke.
Such a radial press is known from the German Offenlegungsschrift [laying-open statement] 4135465. As compared with those radial presses in which the crimping members are controlled by means of at least one conical pressure ring that is moved parallel to the press axis (e.g. DE-OS 2844475), radial presses of the type indicated above are characterized by a relatively low construction depth (expanse in the direction of the press axis); this is a decisive advantage with regard to application possibilities of the press. However, known radial presses of the type indicated above require a relatively large construction volume, for which reason only stand presses have been implemented until now, in which large hydraulic cylinders are arranged in the stand housing. This also holds true for the radial press known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,656. Furthermore, at least in the radial press of the type indicated above, according to DE-OS 4135465, only axial loading and unloading of the press is possible. This results in that only small-sized fittings may be attached to hoses with that radial press.
The task on which the present invention is based is derived from these facts, and consists of creating a radial press of the type stated initially, that allows to attach larger fittings to hoses. A further object is to provide for a radial press of the type stated initially that can be implemented as a tool of an industrial robot.
This task is accomplished, according to the invention, in that those two crimping members which are arranged perpendicular to the direction of movement of said first press yoke are divided into two crimping member segments, each of said crimping member segments being slidably guided along said first control surface of the associated first and second press yoke respectively. This design allows to open the radial press such far that larger dimensions fittings may be loaded and unloaded axially. In addition, the structure of the radial press according to the invention makes other particularly preferred further developments possible, which, as will be explained below, demonstrate very significant advantages for practical work, as compared with the state of the art.
In accordance with a preferred further development, both press yokes of the radial press according to the invention are movable with respect to the housing. In this manner, a radial press with a dual press stroke is obtained, without the construction size increasing too greatly. This is particularly advantageous if a radial loading opening is provided (see below). Furthermore, in such a radial press according to the invention, equipped with two movable press yokes, it is advantageous that the press axis is not displaced during the pressing process, if the press is structured symmetrically. This is advantageous, in particular if the press is used in connection with an industrial robot. However, it should be emphasized at this point that a radial press according to the invention, equipped with two movable press yokes, by no means necessarily has to be structured symmetrically. Instead, the drive units assigned to the two press yokes can certainly be structured differently. In this case, one press yoke could be used for fast adjustment of the crimping members, while the other press yoke could be used for a power adjustment of the crimping members.
In accordance with the radial press according to the invention, the latter has a common housing in which the first press yoke is guided so as to be movable. If the radial press according to the invention has (only) one movable press yoke, it is practical if the other press yoke is mounted fixed in place in the housing. In connection with the extremely compact construction of the radial press as explained above, such a common housing results in a high degree of rigidity, so that even relatively small radial presses can work at high forces.
The very compact structural design of the radial press according to the invention even makes it possible for the housing to have a radial loading opening on one side, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the invention. Even the interruption in the (otherwise essentially closed) housing caused by such a radial loading opening on one side does not result in an impermissibly great reduction in rigidity of the radial press according to the invention, because of its extremely compact construction. However, the possibility of radial loading of the radial press is a very significant advantage, for practical work, as compared with those radial presses that can only be loaded axially, since in this way the radial press is also suitable for processing of work pieces that cannot be drawn through the die because of their complicated shape, for example if pressing is to be performed in the center of a hose. Also, the radial loading opening makes this further development of the radial press according to the invention particularly suitable for automated use, for example in that the radial press is arranged on the arm of an industrial robot, as a pressing die. Because of its radial loading opening, the radial press can be passed from the side over pre-installed work pieces, mounted in a suitable device. As compared with the state of the art, this allows a significant improvement in the efficiency of production, in that a plurality of work pieces is made available on a suitable device, for automatic processing with the radial press according to the invention. Axial loading, which was required until now, and can only be performed by hand, particularly in the case of soft pieces that bend easily, such as hoses or the like, can be eliminated when using a further development of the radial press according to the invention, with a radial loading opening as explained above.
The radial loading opening on one side, as explained above, is arranged perpendicular to the direction of movement of the press yokes as they move towards one another and is adjacent to one of said two crimping members which is divided into two crimp member segments.
Also with regard to as compact a construction of the radial press according to the invention as possible, another further development of the latter is characterized in that the at least one drive unit comprises a hydraulic piston that is guided in a segment of the housing structured as a hydraulic cylinder, forming a seal. For this purpose, the hydraulic piston can be wedge-shaped, in order to make a wedge gear mechanism available that acts to convert its movement into a movement of the press yoke in question. The result is an extreme degree of compactness of the radial press.
The minimal dimensions of the radial press according to the invention, particularly its especially small construction height in the axial direction, make it possible that two or more radial presses can be arranged very closely next to each other. With a system of several radial presses of the type according to the invention, arranged in parallel, it is therefore possible to carry out even very closely adjacent pressing processes synchronously, which is a significant advantage for practical operations, because of the time that is gained. For this purpose, according to yet another further development of the invention, at least two radial presses according to the invention are mounted adjacent to each other on a common guide, at a distance along the press axis relative to each other, where the distance between the presses can be quickly adjusted, either manually or automatically, by means of a suitable structure of the guide.